Tensiometer



Sept. 24, 14957 E. N. scHwENNlNGER HTM.

TENSIOMETER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 21. 1954 rnv,

ww V-Ilu R E mmf www w N 5 r mi W NH 1.@ A HH. Ts m Y/ B ai: G vh .NU Q911% Qi Sept. 24,

TENSIOMETER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 21, 1954 Unite fates 2,807,162 YTENsroMErER Application May 21, 1954, Serial No. 431,447 12 Claims. (Cl.73--143) This invention relates to a recording tensiometer and i moreparticularly to a tensiometer for recording fluctuations in yarntension. Y

' It is often desirable in textile operations to ascertain the tensionin running yarns, particularly since-many fabric defects and dyeingproperties are related to yarn tension and to changes in such tension.However, owing to the large and rapidly-occurring variations of thetension in running yarns, it has been difficult to record the tensioncontinuously, in a; precise manner, and without a relatively largemovement of the yarn-receiving portion of the tension-measuring device.

lt is an object of this invention to provide an accurate and responsivetensiometer for recording the fluctuations in the tension of a runningyarn or filament as it passes.

over rollers or guides in predetermined arranged courses.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a force measuringdevice in which the measurement of the force involves .only a smallmovement of the force-receiving portion of the device.

Other objects of this invention, together with certain details ofconstru-ction and arrangements of parts, will be apparent .from thefollowing description and claims.

A preferred form of this inventionis illustrated in theaccompanyingdrawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side view, mainly 1ncross-section, of the tensiometer of this invention,

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional View taken along the line 2-2of Fig. l, Y

Fig. 3 is a plan view taken in the direction indicated by the arrows 3-3of `Fig. l Aand showing the manner in which the beam of the tensiometeris pivotally mounted,

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional View taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. l, andf Fig. 5 is a View in cross-section taken along Vthe line 5-5 of Fig. 1.Y

Referring now to the drawings, reference numeral 11 designates a runningyarn, whose tension is to be measured. This yarn passes over a freelyrotatable roller 12 which is supported at the end of a. tiltable,generally horizontal beam 13. The beam 13 is resiliently supported, on astationary manifold 14, for angular movement in a vertical plane, bymeans of an arrangement of thin metallic strips or fiexurebands 16,17,-17a (see also Fig. 3)described in detail below.

One band 16 .(see also Fig. 3) is disposedhorizontally while the othertwo bands 1717a are disposed vertically on both sides of the horizontalband 16. The horizontal band 16 is fixed at one end to the manifold 14,as by means of screws 1S, and is secured at the other end toa T-shapedplate 19 by means of fasteners 21, 22. The plate 19 is in turn attachedto the beam -13 by the fastener 22 and by another fastener 23. Theupperends of the vertical bands 17, 17a are joined to angle irons 24, 24a,respectively, by means of screws 26, 26a, respectively, these angleirons 24, 24a being in turn fixed to the manifold 14, as by means of thescrews 18. The lower ends of the vertical bands 17, 17a are secured toopposite atent O` ice y beam 13 pivots about a horizontal axis situatedgenerally at about the line of intersection of thehorizontal plane ofthe band 16 and the vertical `plane of the bands 17, 17a. Tilting of thenormally horizontal beam 13 causes the bands 16, 17, 17a to bendslightly, though the extent of such bending is, of course, notsufficient to cause permanent deformation of said strips. For example,each of the bands 16, 17, 17a, which may be termed flat springs, may bemade of sheet Phosphor bronze, 1&0 inch in thickness, with the free spanbetween the fixed portions of each band being about 2/3 inch. Thearrangement of bands provides a substantially frictionless andtrouble-free pivotal support for the beam 13. Y p v The force applied tothe end of the beam 13 by the running yarn 11 is opposed by air pressurewhich is applied to the beam 13 through the action of a bellows 29(Figs. 1 and 4) having `a pointed head 31, adapted tol 36' of thebellows 29 is secured. The port 33 communicates with the interior of thebellows 29 through a passageway 37 in a screw 38, which screw passesthrough the central bore 39 of the block 34 and is threaded into thebase 36.`

The air under pressure is supplied to the flexible line 32 and bellows29 from an air supply zone 41 (see also Fig. 2), which zoneis maintainedat a constant uniform pressure. From the supply zone 41 the air passesthrough a pipe l42, then through a passage 43 (see also Fig. 2) inthemanifold 14, to a passage 44 in a pilot valve assembly 46 (Fig. l)supported on said manifold. In the pilot valve assembly 46 the airtravels from the passage 44 past a ball 47 to a chamber 43, a portion ofthe air in the chamber 48 being exhausted or bled to the atmospherethrough the bore 49 of a tubular fitting 51 mounted in said asssembly46. The pressure of the air in the chamber 48 is transmitted, through apassageway 52 in the of a pressure gauge 54 which is connected to thepassageway 52 by means of a pipe 56 (see also Fig. 2).

The rate at which the air flows from the air supply zone 41 to thechamber 48 (Fig. l) in the pilot valve assembly 46 is regulated by theposition of the ball 47. The Yposition of the ball 47 also determineshow much, if any, of this air is exhausted from the chamber 4S to theatmosphere through the bore 49 of the tubular fitting 51. Thus, the ball47 is adapted to be pressed against either a lower tapered seat 57 oragainst an upper tapered seat 58 or to be in a position between, anddisengaged from, these two seats depending on the position of a plunger59 abutting against said ball and described below. The upper seat 58 issituated at one endof the tubularrfitting 51, which is screwed into themain body 60 of they pilot valve assembly 46. Similarly, the lower seat57 is situated at one end of a tubular lower fittingy 61 screwed intosaid main body 60. Theshape and spacing of the seats 57, 58 are suchthat the ball 47 is prevented from leaving the zone betweensaid seats.Mounted VWithin the lower tubular fitting 61 is a push rod 62,

slightly thinner than the bore 63 of said lower fitting 61, which pushrod is urged upwardly against the ball 47V by the action of a relativelyweak spring 64, operating in compression. The upper end of the spring 64abutS against a shoulder 66 on the push rod 62, while the lower end ofthe spring 64 presses against a plug 67 which is screwed into the mainbody 6). ln order to prevent leakage of air around the plug, a gasket 68is provided. The tendency of the push rod 62 and ball 47 to move upwardsdue to the force exerted by the spring 64 is resisted by the plunger S9,which is of slightly smaller diameter than the bore 49 of the uppertubular fitting 51. The lower end of the plunger 59 is adapted to engagethe top of the ball 47, while the upper end of the plunger is adapted toabut against the tip of a screw 71 adjustably mounted on the beam 13.

in operation, assuming the parts to be inthe position shown in Fig. l,the force applied by the yarn 11 traveling over the roller 12 tilts thebeam 13 forward, causing upward movement of the screw 71, and,accordingly, causing the ball 47 to move upward away from the seat 57and towards the seat 53. Air, from air supply 41, ows past the ball 47until -the pressure in the bellows 29 has increased suiiiciently tobalance the force applied by the yarn 11, thus causing the beam 13 totilt back to a position such that the ball 47 will be situated betweenand spaced from the two seats 57 and 58. In this position a controlledamount of air will pass into the chamber 48 and a controlled amount ofair will be bled from said chamber to the atmosphere. If the pressure inthe bellows 29 should be greater than that necessary to balance theforce applied by the yarn 11, e. g. if the tension in the yarn shoulddecrease, the beam 13 will be tilted back still further, causing thescrew 71 to move downwards and thereby moving the ball 47 closer to thelower seat 57. This movement causes a decrease in the pressure in thebellows 29 by decreasing the amount of air flowing into the chamber 48and increasing the amount of air being bled to the atmosphere.Conversely, if the pressure in the bellows 29 is insuilicient to balancethe force applied by the yarn 11, e. g. if the tension in the yarnshould increase, the beam 13 will be tilted forward causing the screw 71to move upward and thereby moving the ball 47 closer to the upper seat58, thus increasing the pressure in the bellows 29 by increasing theamount of air ilowing into the chamber 48 and decreasing the amount ofair being bled to the atmosphere.

It is to be understood, of course, that the apparatus shown in thedrawings is so constructed that substantially no air escapes therefromto the atmosphere, except through the bore 49 of the tubular fitting 51.

It will be apparent from the drawings that in the embodiment illustratedtherein, the weight of the beam 13 is not evenly balanced. Accordingly,even when there is no load on the beam 13, for example, when no yarn ispassing over the roller 12, there will be a tendency for the beam totilt forward and for the roller 12 to move downward. The screw 71 shouldbe so adjusted that when there is no load on the beam 13 the ball 47will be in a position between its two seats 57 and 58 whereby acontrolled amount of air will be bled from the chamber 48 to theatmosphere.

The tensiometer of this invention also comprises means for adjusting therange thereof, that is, the range of yarn tensions which may be measuredthereby. To this end, provision is made for varying the point where theair pressure is applied to the beam 13, means being provided for movingthe bellows 29 horizontally so that its pointed head 31 slides along thebottom of the horizontal strip 16. Thus, the block 34, to which thebottom 36 of the bellows 29 is secured, is mounted on a carriage 72 (seealso Fig. 4), while the carriage 72 is in turn mounted on two identicalhorizontal screws 7?, 73a, as shown in Fig. 4, and is adapted to bemoved horizontally by the rotation of said screws. The screws 73, 73aare operatively connected to pinions 74, 74a, respectively (Figs. 1 and5), which are adapted to be driven by a meshing gear wheel 76 Xed to ashaft 77. In order to permit the gear wheel 76 to be rotated manually,as desired, the shaft 77 is provided with a slot 78 for receiving theblade of a screw driver.

The assembly of screws 73, 73a, pinions 74, 74a, and gear wheel 76 ismounted on a framework 79, which framework is attached to a base 81, asby means of screws 82 (Fig. l). The manifold 14 is also attached to thebase 81, as by means of screws 83 (Fig. 2), and the whole tensiometer,except for the air supply 41, pressure gauge 54 and the end of the beam1,3 carrying the roller 12, is enclosed within a housing 84.

The pressure gauge 54 may be of any suitable type such as a Bourdon tubegauge or a recorder-controller of conventional construction. The use ofthe recordercontroller is particularly advantageous when it is desiredto control a process, e. g. a physical or chemical treatment of theyarn, in accordance with variations in the tensions of the yarn. Thus,the recorder-controller may be so connected as to vary any desiredcontrol agent for said process in accordance with the variations in theair pressure transmitted to said recorder-controller through the pipe56.

It is to be understood that the foregoing detailed description is givenmerely by way of illustration and that many variations may be madetherein without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Having described our invention what we desire to secure by LettersPatent is:

1. A force measuring device comprising a member mounted for movement, `aguide for receiving a continuous moving element and operativelyconnected to said member for applying thereto the force exerted on saidguide due to the tension in said moving element, a chamber, means forcontinuously supplying a fluid under pressure to said chamber, meansproviding a passage for continuously bleeding uid from said chamber,means for applying the pressure of the fluid in said chamber to saidmember in a direction to oppose said force, valve means operativelyconnected to said member and controlled by said member for regulatingthe rate at which uid is supplied to said chamber, said valve meansserving to increase the rate of fluid supply to said chamber when thepressure of said fluid in said chamber is insuflicient to balance saidforce, and vice versa, and means for measuring the pressure of the fluidin said chamber whereby to obtain an indication of the magnitude of saidforce.

2. A force measuring device comprising a member mounted for movement, aguide for receiving a continuous moving element and operativelyconnected to said member for applying thereto the force exerted on saidguide due to the tension in said moving element, a chamber, means forcontinuously supplying a uid under pressure to said chamber, meansproviding a passage for continuously bleeding fluid from said chamber,means for applying the pressure of the fluid in said chamber to saidmember in a direction to oppose said force, valve means operativelyconnected to said member and controlled by said member for regulatingthe rate at which uid is bled from said chamber, said valve meansserving to decrease the rate of bleeding from said chamber when thepressure of said fluid in said chamber is insuicient to balance saidforce, and vice versa, and means for measuring the pressure of the iiuidin said chamber whereby to obtain an indication of the magnitude of saidforce.

3. A force measuring device comprising a member mounted for movement, aguide for receiving a continuous moving element and operativelyconnected to said member for applying thereto the force exerted on saidguide due to the tension in said moving element, a chamber, means forcontinuously supplying a lluid under pressure to said chamber, meansproviding a passage for continuously bleeding iluid from said chamber,means for applying the pressure of the fluid in said chamber to saidmember in a direction to oppose said force, valve means operativelyconnected to said member and controlled by said member for regulatingthe rate at which uid 'estime is supplied to said chamber and the rateat which fluid is bled from said chamber, said valve means serving toincrease the rate of fluid supply to said chamber and decrease the rateof bleeding from said chamber when the pressure of said fluid in saidchamber is insutcient to balance said force, and vice versa, and meansfor measuring the pressure of the yiluid in said chamber whereby toobtain an indication of the magnitude of said force.

4. A device for measuring the tension in a moving yarn, comprising amember mounted for angular movement, yarn receiving means operativelyconnected to said member for applying thereto the force exerted on saidyarn receiving means due to the tension in a running yarn engaged bysaid yarn receiving means, a chamber, means for continuously supplying aiiuid` under pressure to said chamber, means providing a passage forcontinuously bleeding fluid from said chamber, means for applying thepressure of the fluid in said chamber to said member in a direction tooppose the force due to the tension in said yarn, valve meansoperatively connected to said member and controlled by the position ofsaid member for regulating the rate at which uid is supplied to saidchamber, said valve means serving to increase the rate of fluid supplyto said chamber when the pressure of said uid in said chamber isinsuicient to balance the force to be measured, and vice versa, andmeans for measuring the pressure of the fluid in said chamber whereby toobtain an indication of the tension in said running yarn.

5. A device for measuring the tension in a moving yarn, comprising amember mounted for angular movement, yarn receiving means operativelyconnected to said pivoted member for applying thereto the force exertedon said yarn receiving means due to the tension in a running yarnengaged by said yarn receiving means, a chamber, means for continuouslysupplying a fluid under pressure to said chamber, means providing apassage for continuously bleeding fluid from said chamber, means forapplying the pressure of the iuid in said chamber to said member in adirection to oppose the force due to the tension in said yarn, valvemeans operatively connected to said member and controlled by theposition of said member for regulating the rate at which uid is bledfrom said chamber, said valve means serving to decrease the rate ofbleeding from said chamber when the pressure of said fluid in saidchamber is insufficient to balance the force to be measured, and viceversa, and means for measuring the pressure of the fluid in said chamberwhereby to obtain an indication of the tension in said running yarn.

6. A device for measuring the tension in a moving yarn, comprising amember mounted for angular movement, yarn receiving means operativelyconnected to said member for applying thereto the force exerted on saidyarn receiving means due to the tension in a running yarn engaged bysaid yarn receiving means, a chamber, means for continuously supplying afluid under pressure to said chamber, means providing a passage forcontinuously bleeding fluid from said chamber, means for applying thepressure of the iiuid in said chamber to said member in a direction tooppose the force due to the tension in said yarn, valve meansoperatively connected to said member and controlled by the position ofsaid member for regulating the rate at which fluid is supplied to saidchamber and the rate at which fluid is bled from said chamber, saidvalve means serving to increase the rate of uid supply to said chamberand decrease the rate of bleeding from said chamber when the pressure ofsaid uid in said chamber is insufficient to balance the force to bemeasured, Iand vice versa, and means for measuring the pressure of thefluid in said chamber whereby to obtain an indication of the tension insaid running yarn.

7. A device as set forth in claim 4 in which said means for applying thepressure of the fluid in said chamber to .said member comprises abellows for receiving said liuid,

chamber, a ball movable between said seats to vary vaifle'xible "lineconnecting said chamber to said bellows, -said bellows operativelyengaging said beam at a point gaging saidy bellows and for moving saidbellows parallel to said beam on rotation of said screw.

9. A device according to claim 6 in which said valve means comprises apair of opposed valve seats in sai sai rates of supply and exhaust, anda rod operatively engaging said ball and said member for controlling theposition of said ball.

10. A device for measuring the tension in a moving yarn, comprising abeam, a yarn receiving roller mounted at one end of said beam totransmit the tension in said yarn to said beam, said beam being mountedfor angular movement solely by means of a plurality of iiexible stripsextending i-n intersecting horizontal and vertical planes between saidbeam and a xed support, a bellows having a pointed tip operativelyengaging said beam at a point spaced from the fulcrum of said beam, apair of screws parallel to said beam and operatively engaging saidbellows for moving said bellows parallel to said beam to vary thedistance between said tip and said fulcrum, pinions on said screws, agear Wheel engaging each of said pinions for rotating said screws, achamber communieating with the interior of said bellows, a flexible lineconnecting said chamber to said bellows, means for continuouslysupplying air under pressure to said chamber, means providing a passagefor continuously bleeding air from said chamber, valve means operativelyconnected to said beam and controlled by the position of said beam forvarying the rate at which air is supplied to said chamber land the rateat which air is bled from said chamber, said valve means serving toincrease the rate of uid supply to said chamber and to decrease the rateof bleeding from said chamber when the pressure ofrsaid fluid in saidchamber is insufficient to balance the force to be measured, and viceversa, said valve means comprising a pair of opposed valve seats in saidchamber, a ball movable between said seats to vary said rates of supplyand bleeding and a rod operatively engaging said ball and said beam forcontrolling the position of said ball, and means for measuring thepressure of the fluid in said chamber whereby to obtain an indication ofthe tension in said running yarn.

ll. A force measuring device comprising a member mounted forangular'movement, a guide for receiving a continuous moving element andoperatively connected to said member for applying thereto the forceexerted on said guide due to the tension in said moving element, achamber, means for continuously supplying a uid under pressure to saidchamber, means providing a passage for continuously bleeding fluid fromsaid chamber, means for applying the pressure of the fluid in saidchamber to said member in a direction to oppose said force, valve meansmovable with said member and controlled by said member for regulatingthe rate at which fluid is supplied to said chamber, said valve meansserving to increase the rate of iiuid supply to said chamber when thepressure of said fluid in said chamber is insuiiicient to balance saidforce, and vice versa, and means for measuring the pressure of the fluidin said chamber whereby to obtain an indication of the'magnitude of saidforce.

l2. A device for measuring the tension in a moving yarn, comprising amember mounted for angular movement, yarn receiving means operativelyconnected to said 7 member for applying thereto the force exerted onsaid yarn receiving means due to the tension in a running yarn engagedby said yarn receiving means, a chamber, means for continuouslysupplying a uid under pressure to said chamber, means providing apassage for continuously bleeding uid from said chamber, means forapplying the pressure of the fluid in said chamber to said member in adirection to oppose the force due to the tension in said yarn, valvemeans movable with said member and controlled by the position of Saidmember for regulating the rate at which uid is supplied to said chamberand the rate at which uid is bied from said chamber, said valve meansserving to increase the rate of Huid supply to said chamber and decreasethe rate of bleeding from said chamber when the pressure of said uid insaid chamber is insufficient to balance the force to be measured, andvice versa, and means for measuring the pressure of the fluid in saidchamber whereby to obtain an indication of the tension in said runningyarn.

VReferences'Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,240,243 Mason Apr. 29, 1941 2,268,783 Tate Jan. 6, 1942 2,284,364Breezeale May 26, 1942 2,343,181 Heinz Feb. 29, 1944 2,431,200Rosenberger Nov. 18, 1947 2,443,049 McVey Tune 8, 1948 2,493,012 MooreJan. 3, 1950 2,581,990 Weber Jan. 8, 1952 2,623,741 Brockhuysen Dec. 30,1952 2,662,539 Markson Dec. 15, 1953

